Four airlines submit complaint against France over strikes

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FILE PHOTO: A Ryanair logo is seen on a wing of a passenger aircraft travelling from Madrid International Airport to Bergamo Airport, Italy, January 14, 2018. Picture taken January 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair (RYA.I), Easyjet (EZJ.L), Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) and IAG (ICAG.L) submitted complaints to the European Commission against France on Tuesday, arguing that its air traffic controllers’ strikes were restricting freedom of movement within the EU.

European airlines have faced an increasing threat to profits this year from the cost of flight cancellations associated with air traffic control (ATC) strikes. France has been a particular problem area with public sector workers staging a series of protests over the government’s economic reforms.

The four airlines said they believed France was breaking EU law by not enabling flights over the country during strikes, meaning passengers flying between member states not affected by the action are being denied their freedom to travel.

“The right to strike needs to be balanced against freedom of movement. Passengers on routes that overfly France, especially the large airspace that covers Marseille and the Mediterranean, are also subject to delays and massive disruptions,” IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said in a joint statement by the four.

British Airways-owner IAG, which also owns the Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling carriers, said last month that it was spending more on fuel to travel via alternative routes to bypass French airspace, describing the strikes as more of a threat to European airlines this year than a rise in fuel prices.

En-route air traffic flow management delays in June increased by 150 percent compared with one year ago, mainly due to ATC capacity/staffing, weather and industrial action, according to data from network manager Eurocontrol.

“We call on Europe’s Governments and the EU Commission to take urgent and decisive action to ensure that ATC providers are fully staffed and that overflights are not affected when national strikes take place,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said.

A spokesman for the Commission said it would carefully analyze the complaint.

Reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin, Victoria Bryan in Berlin and Peter Maushagen in Brussels; Editing by Kirsten Donovan